Internationally reputed mining and tunnelling engineer, specialist in pipejacking and jacked box tunnelling.
Doug Allenby, a world-renowned mining, tunnelling, and excavation engineer, died in December 2017, aged 73. He was Director of Tunnelling and Chief Tunnelling Engineer at BAM Nuttall (formerly Edmond Nuttall Limited) working for the Company for over 45 years.
Doug was born in Selby, North Yorkshire, moving to Newcastle-upon -Tyne aged 6, where his father worked as a Civil Engineer. After completing school in Newcastle, he was articled as a pupil under the Port of Tyne Authority Chief Engineer. He completed his ONC there, before working his way through Newcastle University gaining an Honours Degree in Mining Engineering in 1968.
During this period he developed his appreciation and fascination with everything Geological, especially related to mining and ground excavations. Lecturers in Applied Geology at Newcastle, Duncan Murchison and Bill Dearman, obviously made an impression on the young student, recalling their unique lecturing and field teaching styles in his later years.
From 1968 to 1971 he worked on a PhD related to the Second Mersey Tunnel (later called ‘Kingsway’) and started his long association with The Geological Society, becoming an FGS in 1968. He worked on analysis of stress in tunnel linings, with specific reference to the Second Mersey Tunnel.
On completion of his PhD, he was offered employment with Edmund Nuttall Ltd. and worked on the Channel Tunnel, Phase II, the Foyers Hydro-Electric Pumped Storage Scheme, the Thames Tidal Defences, and an experimental bentonite shield tunnelling project at New Cross in London.
From 1975 he worked on many overseas projects, in Hong Kong, Australia, Portugal and Turkey, supervising Turkish contractors on a six kilometre sewer tunnel scheme in Istanbul through hard rock and weak, water-bearing alluvial deposits.
From 1990, as Chief Tunnelling Engineer for Nuttalls, he was involved in many geotechnical and ground engineering projects, including ground treatment, deep well dewatering, shaft sinking and the design of tunnelling equipment. In jacked box applications, he was involved in schemes at Lewisham, Dorney, the M1 Junction 15A and in Boston, USA, then the largest scheme of its type in the world.
He also worked on the reclamation of mineworkings and spoil-heaps, and remediation work associated with contaminated ground. With BAM Group Company Ritchies, he worked on the Combe Down Stone Mines, and the Grey Gables and Mount Pleasant areas near Bath. This involved deep trench excavations, support and stability monitoring, breaking into disused mines with a 2.4m diameter tunnel, and design of long-term support.
He became a Visiting Professor in Geotechnical Engineering at Newcastle University in 2001, and was a key supporter of the British Tunnelling Society (BTS)-supported MSc Course in Tunnelling Engineering at Warwick University.
He was awarded the Gold Medal from the Institution of Civil Engineers in 2015 and the James Clarke medal from the BTS. He is survived by his widow, June, who has donated these two medals for permanent display at BAM Nuttall’s Head Office in Camberley.
By George Reeves
A longer version of this obituary follows. Editor.
Doug Allenby, a world-renowned mining, tunnelling, excavation engineer, and specialist in pipe-jacking applications, died in December 2017, aged 73.
He was Director of Tunnelling and Chief Tunnelling Engineer at BAM Nuttall (formerly Edmond Nuttall Limited) and worked for the Company for over 45 years.
Doug was born and started school in Selby, North Yorkshire, and then moved to Newcastle-upon -Tyne at the age of 6, where his father worked as a Civil Engineer.
After completing school in Newcastle, he was articled as a pupil under the Port of Tyne Chief Engineer and became familiar with the dockyards of Tyneside “on the front line”. This even involved doing some “proper” old-fashioned air-suit diving in some of the docks and the River Tyne, which must have been one way of getting a very “hands-on” experience in his early career.
He completed his ONC whilst working for The Port of Tyne, before working his way through Newcastle University where he was awarded an Honours Degree in Mining Engineering in 1968.
It was during this period that he developed his appreciation and fascination with everything about Geology, especially as related to mining and ground excavations. Lecturers and tutors in Applied Geology at Newcastle included Duncan Murchison and Bill Dearman, who obviously made quite an impression on the young student, as he recalled their unique lecturing and field teaching styles many years later.
From 1968 to 1971 he worked on a PhD related to the Second Mersey Tunnel (later called “Kingsway”) and started his long association with The Geological Society, becoming an FGS in 1968.
As a Research Student at Newcastle he worked on the analysis of stress in tunnel linings, again with specific reference and experience from the Second Mersey Tunnel, whilst working with Mott, Hay and Anderson and Edmond Nuttall Ltd.
On completion of his PhD, he was immediately offered employment with Edmund Nuttall Ltd. and worked on the Channel Tunnel, Phase II, the Foyers Hydro-Electric Pumped Storage Scheme, the Thames Tidal Defences, and an experimental bentonite shield tunnelling project at New Cross in London.
From 1975 he worked on a many overseas projects, in Hong Kong, Australia, Portugal and Turkey. He supervised Turkish contractors in constructing a 6km. sewer tunnel scheme in Istanbul through hard rock and weak, water bearing alluvium deposits.
From 1990, as Chief Tunnelling Engineer for Nuttall, he was involved in many geotechnical and ground engineering projects, including ground treatment, deep well dewatering, shaft sinking, the design of tunnelling equipment and tunnel linings.
As a specialist in jacked box applications, he was involved in schemes at Lewisham, Dorney, the M1 Junction 15A and in Boston, USA on the largest scheme of its type in the world. He did much work on the reclamation of mine workings and spoil heaps, and in remediation work associated with contaminated ground. In association with Group Company Ritchies, he worked on the Combe Down Stone Mines, and the Grey Gables and Mount Pleasant areas near Bath.
These projects involved deep trench excavations, support and stability monitoring, breaking into disused mines with a 2.4m dia. Tunnel, and the design of long-term support.
He was always interested in playing an active role in the development of teaching and research in mining and tunnelling. His interest in training and especially post-graduate courses was demonstrated when he became a Visiting Professor in Geotechnical Engineering at Newcastle University in 2001. He also was a key supporter and advisor to the British Tunnelling Society (BTS)-supported MSc. Course in Tunnelling Engineering at Warwick University.
He was awarded the Gold Medal from the Institution of Civil Engineers in 2015 (Their “Spirit of Telford” Awards), and the James Clarke medal from the BTS.
He is survived by his widow, June, who has donated the above two medals for permanent display at Bam Nuttall’s Head Office in Camberley.
By George Reeves (with help from Peter Naylor, Leighton Millis, Roger Bramley and June Allenby).